Total War
by ga-mei
Summary: With Danzo as the 6th Hokage, Tsunade in a coma, and Sasuke walking into his death it will take a hidden alliance, backstabbing allies, and two unstoppable forces to defeat the unfit 6th hokage.
1. Prologue

Total War

--

"Gaara!" The frantic blonde broke into her brother's office without permission. Gaara glanced up at her, and she continued to talk. "Konoha's been destroyed, and Tsunade has been dismissed as the fifth Hokage." She gasped. "They're trying to gather all the Kage's together, where you'll meet the Rokudaime Hokage, Danzo."

Gaara's eyes narrowed, the name seemed oddly familiar. "Pull up his files." He muttered, turning back to his paperwork. Temari left the room in a hurry. His non-visible eyebrows furrowed together, as he tapped his pencil on the desk.

"Gaara." Temari walked back into the room, holding a thick manila folder. "Danzo is a Konoha elder," Temari began to read; pulling a photo that was paper clipped to the file. She handed the Polaroid to Gaara, and continued. "He created the ANBU faction called the Foundation, and is a big political person." She frowned as she read on. Gaara stared at her, waiting for more information. "He's been trying to become Hokage since Sarutobi…" She muttered, glancing up at Gaara. The corners of Gaara's lips pulled down, and he stared at her.

"We have to go to Konoha." He stated, getting up. "Now."

--

"How could Sasuke-teme be labeled as a missing-nin?" Naruto asked, pacing back and forth. Kiba and Sakura stared at him, watching as the shinobi got rather…disturbed.

"I don't know Naruto-kun, but this is just too much to handle." Sakura shook her head, ready to loose it herself. "First Tsunade-sama, now Sasuke-kun." Her voice faltered a bit, and she raised a hand to her temple.

"Naruto should take him." Kiba shrugged. A pair of blue and green eyes both stared at him, and he shrugged again. "What? C'mon, Naruto defeated _The Leader of the Akatsuki_ for kami's-sake! What, he can't take down some old cripple?"

"Pein was the villain." Sakura stated. "We can't go behind Konoha's back when it needs us most." She shook her head. "It's a death wish."

"Sakura." Kiba sighed, throwing his head back. "Konoha can't get much _worse_ right now. And Danzo's the villain." Kiba motioned for the two nin to approach. "Look, I've been doing some work and my studies show that the Uchiha massacre wasn't all Itachi. It was a mission. From Danzo."

Sakura's eyes widened in horror, and her vision flickered to Naruto's face. His features were distorted into absolute rage, and she almost didn't recognize him. That's when a nerve in her seemed to snap. "Naruto!" She cried, tackling him to the ground. Naruto began shaking rapidly, his skin beginning to become an orange color. The whiskers on his face began to define more, and Kiba could only watch in curiosity and fear.

"What's going on!?" Kiba demanded, gripping onto Akamaru tighter than necessary.

"It's really complicated." Sakura cried, chewing on the bottom of her lip as she tried to restrain Naruto. The shaking began to decrease, as well as the clarity of the scars and the orange shade of his skin. When the shaking completely stopped, and Naruto had regained his normal appearance, he was out cold.

"So what are we going to do about Danzo?" Kiba demanded. "We can't let this go on, and you know it Sakura." He reminded.

Sakura began to think, hard. She knew in her heart that in order to save Konoha, Danzo must be defeated. However this task seemed nearly impossible to her. She couldn't singlehandedly take on one of the village elders, now the Rokudaime Hokage. She'd be Akamaru food!

"Well…" She trailed off, her mind working a mile a minute. "We could form some kind of resistance." She suggested, holding Naruto's head with her hands on her lap. She used light healing skills to reduce the tension that had gathered in his head.

"Sounds good to me. Who do we recruit?" Kiba asked, leaning forward on Akamaru.

"You can't recruit just anyone." Sakura stated wisely. "If we freely spread the information of this, then it'd be all too easy for Danzo to take us down." Sakura shook her head. "We start with the Rookie Nine and Team Gai, vaguely hinting at negativity towards Danzo as the new Hokage, then slowly progress to see whether they agree or not. If they do, we offer up a position, if they don't…well…don't mention it anymore."

"So Sai's out." Kiba stated, looking away.

"Yeah, Sai's out. The guy can't keep his mouth shut, not to mention he has good espionage skills. He could play his innocent card to us, only to be revealed as a double agent later on." Sakura agreed.

"Hinata?" Kiba asked.

"Hinata's sweet, but be sure to get her actual opinion before mentioning Naruto. She might pressure herself into joining; later changing her mind, if she knows Naruto is involved." Sakuar reminded.

"Shino?"

"Yeah. Shino's good. His bugs will come in handy." Sakura nodded.

"Tenten?"

"Who?"

"Tenten, the weapons girl."

"Right." Sakura nodded. "Hint to her, don't want to get her suspicious and all. She is on Gai's team after all, and we don't need Gai and Lee chanting out of the ordinary verses while they sprint around Konoha."

"What are we going to call this little 'organization'?" Kiba asked, scratching Akamaru behind the ear. "It needs a name."

Sakura sighed, scrolling through possible names in her head. Her eyes widened minimally as she selected the perfect choice. "Jiraiya's Alliance."

--

A/N: Now, this story is going to center around the most recent chapter of the Manga, with Tenten, Naruto, and Sakura as the protagonists. For pairings though, I'm having difficulties coming up with Tentens. It can go 3 ways: KankuroTenten, SuigetsuTenten, or SasukeTenten. Reviews and Comments are WANTED.


	2. Problems

Total War

Chapter One: Problems

--

Sakura was tending to a child in the Children's Ward, Ino in the middle of an intense surgery right across the hall. Screaming and voices filled the halls, snapping Sakura back into reality. She patted the child's gauze-wrapped arm, poking her head out of the doorway to see nurses running down the hall with Tenten on a gurney. Her eyebrows ruffled together, and she followed after the bed-on-wheels after it had passed. She barged into the ICU, turning into a room.

"Clear the room." She stated. "And get Shizune." She ordered, knowing that her only superior at the moment would be able to help her with this. Tenten was normally in excellent shape, and it was peculiar to see the Weapons Mistress lying limp.

Neji and Lee barged in, and Sakura could hear angry cries outside. She stared at the two ninja, who were both silent and watching Tenten.

"What happened?!" Sakura demanded, nodding to a nurse as she came in with Tenten's medical file. She browsed through it, frowning at the almost bare forms.

"We were training, and she just…passed out?" Neji remarked, shoving his hands into his pockets, shrugging. Sakura rolled her eyes. She'd heard little kids come up with better stories.

"Tenten was complaining about the humidity, but Neji insisted on training. She passed out at the water break." Lee informed, and Sakura nodded.

"That sounds better. Well go wait in the lobby, you're not allowed to be in the ICU." She shooed both boys away, leaning both arms on the metal rails of the gurney. "Now…what happened to you?" She whispered to herself, looking at the medical files.

_Name: , Tenten_

_Date of birth: March 9, 1993_

_Eyes: Brown_

_Hair: Brunette_

_Birth Mother:_

_Birth Father:_

_Clan: _

_Kekkei Genkai:_

Sakura then noticed something, a trace of chakra lingering in the paper. She grinned. "Kai." She whispered. Dark ink filled the empty spots, and Sakura Haruno's eyes widened to the size of shrimp balls.

--

"Welcome to Konoha." Danzo greeted the three Suna ninja. "I'm sorry for our…debris. We were just attacked, and we're still cleaning up."

Gaara stared at the wreckage, blinking a single time before staring at Danzo. "It's fine." He muttered, glancing to Temari.

"Escorts?" Temari arched an eyebrow, crossing her arms. She had seen no sign of any escorts for her or her brothers, which she knew was a little iffy, especially since they were questioning Danzo's eligibility to hold Kage title.

"Right." Danzo nodded. "We'll have some assigned to you within an hours time." He prepared to leave.

"How about we choose, and we get them in fifteen minutes time?" Temari snapped, frowning. Danzo froze, turning back to face the edgy wind princess.

"Very well. Which shinobi would you like?" He masked his annoyance skillfully, and Temari smirked in satisfaction.

"Nara, Shikamaru. Haruno, Sakura. Uzumaki, Naruto." Temari listed off.

"Very well. I'll send them right to you." And Danzo left with that.

Temari stared at Gaara. "I don't like him." She muttered. "He's old and creepy." She shuddered.

"Yeah, kind of like every other Hokage besides the 4th." Kankuro rolled his eyes. "Who's Haruno babysitting?" He asked. "It better not be me…" He continued.

"It is. I got Nara, Gaara has Naruto, and so that leaves you with Haruno. Maybe she'll whip you into a man." Temari spat, narrowing her eyes. "The Sixth just put me in a bad mood, don't mess with me _little_ brother." She smirked while Kankuro scowled.

--

"I don't understand why I'm the only one who has to _find_ my own escort." Kankuro whined. He was alongside Gaara and Naruto.

"Sakura's handling an issue in the ICU concerning both Tsunade-baa-sama and Tenten-chan. She said she can escort you, but she needs some time to finish her work." Naruto explained. "She seemed super worried." He muttered, mostly to himself.

The three male entered the hospital, and Naruto picked up an ICU pass at the front desk. He led both Suna shinobi through the hospital halls, into the elevator that went to the ICU floor. He swiped his pass to activate the elevator, and they were slowly pulled up to the top floor. Once they reached the floor, Naruto poked his head out, trying to sense where Sakura was.

"This way." He caught her signature, leading them into a room. Sakura hovered over Tenten's body, her hair was tied back, and her hands glowed green over Tenten's limp body. Kankuro opened his mouth to speak.

"Shh! Don't say anything!" Naruto warned loudly, causing Sakura to flinch. She lost the green glow, and stared at him irritably.

"Naruto-baka. It doesn't do any good to say that if you're going to speak 10 times louder." She hissed, wiping sweat from her brow. "Hello Kankuro-kun, please excuse me. I was in the middle of something when Danzo-sama's men called for me." She smiled.

"Yeah. What happened?" Kankuro glanced at Tenten's body.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. I'm not actually healing her; I'm just letting the chakra work its magic. My hands won't release chakra unless it's needed. There's a small tug at the chakra if a place needs to be healed, so I'm trying to see where that place is." Sakura explained.

"I heard you know who Tenten's birth parents are!" Naruto yelled.

"Yes, that's true." Sakura's hands hovered over Tenten again.

"Let's hear it Pinky." Kankuro smirked. "I wanna know about this name-less girl." He poked Tenten's foot. Sakura swatted both males away.

"Naruto, go get lost. Kazekage-sama, please excuse me, but I need some room to work. Kankuro-kun, go sit down." Sakura shuffled around the bed, to the other side of Tenten. Small beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she worked, finding a spot that required some healing.

"Let's go Naruto." Gaara headed for the door, Naruto bounding after him. The room was quieter minus the 'dobe', and Kankuro leaned against the wall uncomfortably.

Sakura closed the door to Tenten's room. "How long are you in Konoha?" She asked, returning to Tenten's side. She examined the body.

"Gaara didn't say. He just said we had to be here now. Temari doesn't like Danzo, so I'm guessing a while." Kankuro shrugged. Sakura sighed, staring at Kankuro.

"The following conversation never happened." She warned, pausing for him to nod before she proceeded to talk. "There's a reason Tenten was left nameless…it's because she's a…"

--

A/N: I'm so out of it. My chapters are getting SHORT! ARUGH! I PROMISE to write more. I will. I'm just trying to dish out as many chapters as possible. SasuTen is the current couple, KonanNaruto MIGHT happen; it all depends on how this unfolds. Comments/reviews?


	3. Awakening

Total War

Chapter Two: Awakening

--

"…And that's why no one can know." Sakura finished. Kankuro stared at her in disbelief.

"I don't understand how that could even happen." He muttered, shaking his head. Stirring caught his eye, and he glanced at Sakura, whose eyes were also on the moving body.

"Where the hell am I?" A female voice grumbled hoarsely. Sakura was behind Tenten, supporting her as she tried to sit up.

"You collapsed and fainted during training." Sakura explained. "Neji and Lee brought you here." She handed Tenten a glass of water, which she gratefully accepted.

"Great." Tenten muttered. "Just great." She sipped the water. "Neji will never try to push me in training again." She groaned in despair.

"Tenten, you were overexerting yourself, not to mention training while dehydrated." Sakura shook her head. "That wasn't safe at all."

"I don't care." Tenten shook her head. "I need to become stronger." She stated persistently. "I'm going to become as great as Tsunade-sama." She vowed.

Sakura flinched. "You have no idea…" She muttered to herself. Kankuro chuckled.

"How 'bout this? You rest for a day, and then you can unleash all of your anger on me and Pinky over there." He created an offer. The door barged open, Shizune in the doorway.

"You called?" She asked, stepping in. She glanced at Kankuro, then at Tenten. "We have Suna delegates in the ICU…why?" She looked at Tenten. "You're the patient, correct?"

"The Kazekage decided to grace us with his presence." Sakura replied. "He's with Naruto now; I'm to be escorting Kankuro-kun." She explained, Shizune nodded, pulling on some latex gloves.

"Very well. What was so important that I be rushed from Tsunade-hime's side?" She demanded.

"I originally regretted calling you after I had made the order, however I learned of something rather interesting." Sakura pulled Shizune aside, showing her the uncovered medical forms.

"That explains a lot." Shizune muttered, leafing through the papers. "Does she know?" She asked softly, grateful that Kankuro was now engaging in light conversation with the patient.

"No. It's best to keep it from her until absolutely necessary."

--

"What the hell happened?" A dumbfound Karin demanded, hidden in a tree, just on the outskirts of Konoha. "It's like we ran into a big pile of rubble!" She exclaimed.

"Shut it fire-crotch." Suigetsu hissed from the branch below. "Or you'll blow our cover."

Sasuke rolled his eyes from the top branch. He couldn't even begin to explain how much he regretted creating a new 'team'. Karin was the only one who ended up being useful with her tracking skills, but that was when he didn't want to kill her 99% of the time. Juugo came in handy when it was time to wipe out someone, and Suigetsu was just pretty damn lucky he had been near Sasuke while trapped in Orochimaru's lair.

"Sorry about that." A female voice apologized from the tree next to them. On the branch sat a fair-skinned female, with blue hair, an origami piece tucked in her left ear. She wore a blue cheongsam, split down her navel, revealing black boy shorts strikingly similar to Karin's. "Guess we…overdid ourselves, ne?"

"Konan." Sasuke spoke slowly. His eyes narrowed at Karin. "Why didn't you sense her?" He demanded. So much for useful. His eyes flickered back to Konan's shaded silhouette.

"She's Akatsuki level; she's obviously going to have more skill than the average shinobi." Karin snapped.

"The correct answer is: I'm sorry Sasuke-kun, I'll make it up to you in bed." Suigetsu smirked. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"What happened here?" He asked in a monotone voice, causing a slight smirk to dwindle on Konan's flawless face.

"Nagato-sama and I had our fun." She whispered, only Sasuke noticing the faint tremble in her voice.

"You're not wearing an Akatsuki robe." Juugo noted, staring at her new choice in wardrobe.

"Only a member of the Akatsuki is permitted to wear the robe." Konan replied smartly.

"I see." Sasuke raised his chin. He found this all to be very interesting.

"So where does that leave you?" Karin frowned.

"Leader of Amegakure." Konan informed.

"Very nice." Suigetsu grinned, nodding his head. Konan frowned.

"Why is that?" Sasuke stared at Konan, his eyes narrowing. He found it quite odd to see her without the Leader of the Akatsuki.

"After practically obliterating all of Konoha, Pein-sama and I were caught by Uzumaki, Naruto." Konan spoke. She took note of the fact that Sasuke's eyebrows arched noticeably. "I'm assuming you and the Jinchuriki are acquaintances?"

"Former team mates." Sasuke spoke blankly. "Continue."

"Did the fox kill your master?" Karin asked, as she was intrigued by the story as well. Konan shook her head.

"Naruto did not." Konan spoke softly. "He ranted about how he despised Nagato-san, and made Nagato-san fill him in on his life story. Afterwards he declared that he would bring peace to the world, and that he wouldn't kill Nagato-san." Konan had a hand to her temple now. "Nagato-san…revived all the people he had killed in Konoha-village, for the cost of his own life."

"I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm guessing that Nagato and Pein is the same guy?" Suigetsu arched an eyebrow, to earn a glare and a slap across the face from Karin.

"Was. But yes." Konan nodded. She looked off into the distance. "He's some kid, Uzumaki, Naruto." She sighed.

"Yes. He is." Sasuke agreed, staring at the village of rubble. Karin began to twitch, causing Sasuke and Konan to stare questioningly at her.

"I sense someone." She whispered softly. "Male…our age…"

"I can hear you." A male whispered back. The five heads looked up, to reveal a rather miffed Neji Hyuuga.

"Karin, I could kill you." Suigetsu muttered. "There are billions of other chakra specialists, but no, we had to get _you_." He pulled his sword off of his back.

"Look whose back in town." Neji dropped to Sasuke's level, where Byakugon met Sharingan. Sasuke's eyes narrowed before he pulled out his Katana.

--

"I don't understand why you're doing this!" Tenten screamed, dodging an array of kunai.

"Building your endurance!" Sakura shouted back, pulling out some explosives. "Now dodge!" She began to throw them towards the weapons specialist, who could only flip and twirl out of the bombs range. "Kankuro! Now!" The puppeteer unraveled his pride and joy, Karasu. Tenten's eyes widened.

"Both of you at once? How is that fair?" She demanded. "I thought I was supposed to recover!" She twirled low to the ground as Karasu sent off some kunai at her.

"I told you, I'm building your endurance!" Sakura insisted. "I'm not going to go easy." She grinned, pulling out her leather gloves.

"This was easy?" Tenten panted, grabbing at her water bottle. She took a swig and then replaced it, dodging a senbon from Sakura.

"Yep. The Weapons Mistress, minus the 'weapons'." Sakura grinned, gesturing to the array of loose weapons and scrolls that she had confiscated from Tenten. The items lay in a heap behind the rosette, and Tenten's eyes lingered sadly on them. "Get your head in the game!" Sakura ordered, noticing Tenten's distraction.

"On one condition, let me borrow your gloves." Tenten motioned to Sakura's gloves. Sakura stared at her questioningly before pulling off her brown leather gloves, and throwing them to her. Tenten pulled off her own 'gloves' which more acted as a protector for her palm, as the 'gloves' held no fingers. She pulled on Sakura's and the fight commenced.

"Let's go Pinky." Kankuro smirked, leaping down to ground level. He sent chakra strings out to Karasu, and the puppet was brought to life. Wooden body parts spun around and around, and Tenten concentrated, watching as weapons jutted out. She clenched her fists, ready to block.

"All you can use is taijutsu." Sakura called out. "Focus your chakra to your fists." She smiled, glad that her little plot was unraveling correctly. Tenten noticed Kankuro's fingers moving, and she looked up.

Tenten focused as Karasu spit out the first weapon. She focused chakra to her feet, leaping up, and snatching the weapon up. She landed on both her feet, holding the weapon in a fight-stance. Sakura groaned. She had thought too soon.

Tenten went head to head with Karasu, using the kunai she'd obtained to stab the puppet multiple times. She dodged a poisoned blade, sending a kick to the puppet. Kankuro frowned.

"You're going to need a little more than kicking and stabbing to get through my puppet." He muttered, shaking his head. A grin was now slightly evident on his painted face, and Tenten scowled. Kankuro glanced to Sakura, who looked as if she'd discovered the way to snap Tsunade out of the coma. Sakura nodded, and Kankuro continued. "I mean, it's not as if you'd be able to beat me with just taijutsu and ninjutsu, you just have to add those weapons in as well." Tenten's eyes darkened over.

"Remember! Focus the chakra to your fists!" Sakura piped in, grinning as Tenten tightened her gloves. Tenten noted Kankuro's fingers move again as Karasu took a lunge at Tenten, who in turn circulated chakra to her feet, boosting her speed. The two went head to head, and Tenten used her hands to block. "Attack! Don't block!" Sakura growled, becoming quite irritated. How hard was this concept to grasp? "Punch!"

Tenten sent a punch to Karasu, and the Weapons Mistress leapt back, shaking her hand. "That hurt!" She muttered, unused to the taijutsu method. She hadn't done hand to hand combat since the Academy Days.

"Focus the damn chakra to your fist!" Sakura screamed, jumping in. She went easy on Tenten, forcing herself to hold back on her chakra circulation, so that the punches wouldn't kill the mistress just yet. Tenten blocked all of them with ease, as working with a gentle fist user tended to boost the defensive system. "Punch me!" Sakura screamed, slowly releasing small bits of chakra. She could see the realization in Tenten's eyes as the blocking became more difficult, and more painful.

Tenten began to punch back, only to be punched in the gut by Sakura. Being punched in the gut by anyone isn't a feel-good kind of approach, but by Sakura it hurt like hell. Tenten doubled over, Sakura still sending punches to her.

"Lay off!" Tenten sneered, but the punches still came. She rolled out of the way, trying to figure out how to disable Sakura. She put all of her weight onto her hands as she pressed down on the ground, swinging her body at Sakura's legs. The impact caused the rosette to back down in shock, and a small smirk stretched on both girls faces.

"Focus your chakra to your fist, and punch me." Sakura repeated one more time, her voice was as calm as ever. Tenten rose to her feet, hands clutching her side. Slowly, she tightened her gloves, and closed her eyes. She focused on sending chakra to her fists, and re-opened her eyes. She threw a punch at Sakura, who blocked it simply. "Again." Sakura's voice was cool and calm. Tenten threw another punch, which was blocked. "Mark your circulation perfectly, or you'll waste chakra." Sakura stated, taking a defensive stance. "Go." Tenten lunged towards her, fist pulling back.

--

"You demanded to see me Hyuuga boy?" Danzo stood near the remains of Hokage tower. The Hospital had been rebuilt immediately after the attack, as it was the most important building. Hokage tower would have to wait.

"The Uchiha as well as his team and Konan of the Akatsuki were spotted just outside Konoha." Neji reported, bowing to the 6th.

"Did you defeat them?" Danzo asked calmly, snapping his finger for his assistant to take note of the news.

"I tried. There was no backup around me, and they barely escaped." Neji explained. "That is, of course, no excuse. Just the facts." He added.

Danzo nodded. "It's fine. Weaken them, they'll be back. We'll be ready. Put together a team of the finest shinobi you know of, and I will personally send you out to track the whereabouts of this missing-nin. He needs to be stopped."

"Arigato Danzo-sama." Neji bowed again.

"Dismissed."

--

A/N: Ok, so the NaruKonan may be on a friendship based level, as one reader seems to love NaruKonan, while another seems to despise it. How does that compromise sound?

SasuTen is almost final; however bits of KankuTen may occur. Any more suggestions? Comments? Review? Let me know. If I'm messing up, tell me! Preferably nicely, but tell me! Thanks for reading!


	4. Strength

Total War

Chapter Three: Strength

--

"So what are we gonna do?" Karin leaned against a cave well obscured from view. The missing-nin was hidden approximately in the center of the path from Konoha to Suna. Konan had demanded that Taka follow her to cover, since she had been the one to help them escape from the Hyuuga prodigy.

"We _will _attack Konoha, so don't get comfy." Sasuke stated, drinking some water. "Everyone in your path will die. No mercy to anyone." He reminded coldly.

Konan eavesdropped, standing outside the cave. She however, questioned the strength of Sasuke's words. She was well aware of his original three-man cell: Haruno, Uzumaki, and Kakashi. She was also curious if he was going to kill them as well, or manage to spare their lives with a loophole. It wouldn't have been the first time an Uchiha played that particular card.

"We will attack in one to two months." Sasuke stated. "We'll give them time to heal, then attack. It'd be cheap to take out Konoha as the aftershock." He rose to his feet. "Until then, we will train from dawn to dusk. We will be unstoppable." He glanced at Konan. "Are you in?"

Konan shook her head. "No. There's a minor confliction." She stated apologetically, crossing her arms.

"What?" Karin arched an eyebrow.

"I can't kill everyone in my path no matter what. I have limits. That limit is Uzumaki." Konan spoke slowly. She watched Uchiha's eyes darken over. "The kid is a walking bubble of sunshine. Even if he's mad at you, he's still happy. He's a peace-maker, and I refuse to destroy him if the situation calls for it. I'd even go as far as killing one of you for laying a finger on him." Her eyes narrowed. "I also question the actuality of your words." She stared at Sasuke. "Could you honestly say that you would kill Uzumaki, Naruto and Haruno, Sakura if they came in your paths?"

"Yes."

"Then you're lower than scum." Konan whispered softly, before she disappeared in a flock of paper.

--

One Week Later

--

"I don't trust the Sixth." Gaara stated, walking around with Naruto. Both held a small napkin of fried fish from a street vendor, as Ichiraku's had not yet been rebuilt.

"Me neither." Naruto stated confidently.

Gaara stared at his napkin of food. "He's fishy."

"Dattebayo." Naruto nodded. "We should check up on Sakura-chan and see if she has any new information." He suggested. Gaara nodded.

"Ok."

--

"You're going to kill the fish!" Sakura screamed, with her hands twitching as she anxiously oversaw Tenten's first attempt to heal a fish.

"I don't even know what I'm doing!" Tenten screamed in reply.

"You transfer your chakra to the fish's injury!" Sakura whined, as if healing was the most obvious thing in the entire world.

"And how do I _do_ that?" Tenten demanded, getting antsy at the flat fish. Her eyes flickered to Sakura.

"The Mystical Palm Technique!" Sakura reminded. "Ox-tiger!" She made the seals, her hands glowing green. She broke off the technique a moment later, when she felt a chakra presence.

"Sakura-san, Shizune-san need's to see you." A nurse called from the door of the room.

Sakura sighed. "Very well. Teach Tenten how to heal the fish." Sakura instructed, leaving the room. She headed down the hall to see Shizune. "You called for me?"

"Yes." Shizune stated, in a soft tone. "Come here." She led the pinkette outside where they were in a secluded area.

"What is it?" Sakura asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Danzo's catching on. You've practically named Tenten your apprentice. You're teaching her every thing Tsunade taught you, and for good reason. She needs to be well rounded should he find out. However Konoha is not safe for Tenten right now. The last thing we need is for Danzo to become suspicious of her when Tsunade is in a coma." Shizune began to explain.

"Why is he suspicious? Why is he catching on?" Sakura asked.

"Since your discovery you and Tenten have become inseparable, and it's suspicious to everyone. You and Ino are supposed to be the two people see together, now Ino's locked up in her flower shop and you're spending all of your work _and_ free time trying to mentor Tenten." Shizune stated. "It's already suspicious that she doesn't have a surname. If Danzo pulls any files at all, it's over for all of us."

"All of us?" Sakura didn't like the sound of that. "Elaborate."

"We knew about her, and didn't go to him immediately. He'll have us executed." Shizune stared at Sakura. "It wouldn't be the first time he took down a potential threat." She hinted, though the hint was too vague for Sakura to catch on. "I'm sending you, Uzumaki, and Tenten on a short-term mission to Suna. While you're there, you have to give her to someone, get her to become someone's apprentice, anything. Tell them the truth. They'll think Danzo will already know. Just get Tenten to someone you trust, and come back. We'll fake her death. That way if Danzo pulls strings it will look as if his 'potential-threat' is no more." Shizune instructed.

"Naruto-kun and I are escorting the Kazekage and Kankuro-san, remember?" She reminded.

"Even better. They can fake something crucial that they forgot, and you can follow along as your escorts. Smuggle Tenten along or something, or I'll send her on a mission alongside you. I'll send her on an errand for me." Shizune nodded as she began to create the story. She began to lead Sakura back inside.

"Sounds good to me." Sakura nodded.

"Just be careful training Tenten some medical jutsu. A medic-nin must have excellent control of chakra, or healing someone could prove fatal to both people. You need to make sure her chakra control is at least above average for her to not pass out trying to heal that damn fish." Shizune warned, her eyes darkening.

"Shizune-san calm down." Sakura stopped to face her superior. "It's in her blood from both sides. Chakra control shouldn't be the issue. The issue is teaching her to not get hit." She smirked. "All that training with the Hyuuga has taught her to block, not dodge." She shook her head. "If she'd learned to dodge properly then she might've been able to beat Temari in the first Chuunin exam."

"Very well. You have no idea how much responsibility you're holding Sakura." Shizune sighed, raising a hand to her temple. "Or the risk you're holding if Danzo found out."

"Oh, I know." Sakura grinned. The two medic experts walked down the hall, only to hear a delighted squeal. The girls exchanged looks before breaking into light jogs to Tenten's room. In a bowl of water was a happy fish, Tenten crouched near the bowl.

"Good job Tenten-san." The nurse applauded, smiling.

"You healed the fish?" Sakura asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yep!" Tenten beamed, holding up the bowl.

"Good." She pulled out a kunai, slicing it down her own arm. "Now heal me."

"Wh-what?" Tenten stared at the gushing blood. She felt paralyzed and nervous. This was an actual human being!

"Heal me." Sakura stated simply.

"O-ok." Tenten made the two hand signs and her hands began to glow green as they skimmed Sakura's fair skin.

"Good." Sakura nodded, watching as the skin began to reattach.

"Why do I have to learn this?" Tenten asked, concentrating. Sakura winced as she made a mistake, and Tenten chewed on her lip as she tried to right her wrong.

"You have to learn this because after your incident Shizune made it required that you learn some tricks of the trade. Gai also wanted you to strengthen up, learn some medic-jutsu, and well-round yourself. He's on a mission with Lee now, and Neji's on border patrol." Sakura stated, pulling her arm back as Tenten pulled away. "Good job, but careful next time. Try not to make any mistakes; this was a simple mending job."

"It's not as easy as it looks." Tenten huffed angrily.

"I know." Sakura stated quietly. "I'm forcing you to learn all that I've learned in less than 25% of the time I had to learn it. But you'll thank me later. You'll also be more like Tsunade-sama." She re-sliced her arm. "Go again."

Tenten rolled her eyes, making the hand signs, her hands lighting up. She concentrated as she began to mend Sakura's skin. Shizune stood nearby, watching closely at Sakura's peculiar method of teaching. She smiled a bit, Sakura reminding her tremendously of the single living legend.

--

"Eggs, flour, milk, bowl, whisk." Tenten muttered, sending off chakra strings to different parts of the kitchen. "Tsunade-sama isn't even trained in puppeteer work." She talked to herself, under Kankuro's critical eye.

"Yeah, well then that way you won't be a mini-Sakura." Kankuro muttered, leaning back against the counter. "She's teaching you to be exactly like her." He smirked. "Plus, being a puppeteer can be helpful and fun." He smirked. "Cooking with your chakra strings is the basic exercise, because it helps you to manipulate stuff the best."

"What are the 'rules' of puppetry?" Tenten asked, pulling over the food ingredients. She was quite good at charka strings, using them occasionally while performing her Rising Twin Dragon's technique.

"None. If the strings are strong enough, they're as accurate and powerful as Nara's technique, but it'll take a lot out of you. That's why you should stick to a non-living, non-resistant 'puppet'." Kankuro explained.

"Chakra strings can be strong?" Tenten arched her eyebrow, mixing the ingredients with the twitch of her finger.

"Yep. But you have to be training over the top to get them strong enough. Even I'm not strong enough. Since you're juggling different areas of combat at once, you'll probably never reach the strength to do that. But it's a goal." Kankuro winked.

"I see." Tenten sent chakra strings to the cupboard, pulling out a pan.

"Oh and uh, Pinky wanted me to tell you…we're going to Suna at dusk tomorrow." He whispered in a soft voice. "I know its top secret, but I think it has to do with that odd Hokage of yours." He smirked.

"Whatever, spar with me while this is in the oven." Tenten leapt over the counter to the open room. Kankuro followed, pulling out a kunai. An opposing kunai knocked his out of his hand. He stared at her questioningly. "No weapons." She smirked, pulling off her scrolls. She began to de-weapon herself, which took a lot longer than it should have. Weapons came out of unimaginable parts of her, and Kankuro watched with a grin on his face.

"Well look-y there, Panda's a walking weaponry store." Kankuro chuckled, pulling off Karasu and throwing his weapons to the side. "Let's go."

The two began and engaged in simple hand to hand sparring, both going easy on the other. Kankuro's hit's began to get quicker, while Tenten's got stronger. Kankuro began to feel bruises forming in his arm as Tenten began to land her hits by force, and he began to grin. The hits continuously got harder, and he began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Tenten demanded, stopping.

"You're finally learning." Kankuro sighed. "Oh, and you forgot the sugar." He grinned as Tenten glanced back to the counter in shock. No sugar was to be found. She'd just made a sugar-free cake. Wonderful. Needless to say, her punches got considerably harder after that.

"One weapon of your choice." Tenten modified the rules of their spar. She sent chakra strings out to Karasu, and Kankuro stared at her dumbfounded. His eyes narrowed as Karasu came into Tenten's zone, and he shook his head, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"No, I don't think so. You're not even ready for a puppet, let alone _my_ puppet!" He growled. Tenten smirked, taking one of her scrolls and throwing it to him.

"Here. Take my scroll." She smirked. "There are over 250,000 weapons in it at the moment." Kankuro stared at her smallest scroll, which just so happened to be the one she was describing, and the one which she had thrown to him.

"Don't make me fight my own puppet." Kankuro sighed. "I don't want to obliterate it." He crossed his arm, scroll in hand.

"Oh, well I'm not going to make you fight it." Tenten replied innocently. "But I will most certainly make it fight you." She smirked, sending chakra strings to the bundle of bandages. The bandages slowly fell off, revealing the fearsome weapon. Tenten's fingers twitched a few times, purposely of course, and Karasu began to move towards Kankuro.

"How'd you get him to move?" Kankuro demanded suspiciously. "I didn't teach you that." He growled.

"Just like you didn't teach me this?" Tenten moved a finger, and Karasu spit out a kunai. Kankuro dodged with his eyes wide.

"How'd you learn to do that?" He demanded, pointing at her. He seemed furious.

"I paid attention earlier." Tenten smirked, referring to their spar a while ago. She remembered the pattern his fingers would move in to make Karasu move, and also which fingers would send out projectiles.

"You clever little bitch." Kankuro laughed, shaking his head. He sniffed the air, the foul smell of unsweetened cake rising to fill the guest apartment. "Sorry to cut this 'fun' little spar short, but we have to go make sure your shit-cake doesn't make my apartment smell like crap." He smirked. "Plus, Karasu's weapons are poisoned, and I'm not sure if I have the antidote nearby." He grinned.

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Idiot. When in control of a poison you should always have the antidote on your person."

"Oh, did Sakura teach you that?" Kankuro asked, raising his eyebrows mockingly. Tenten sent a punch to his shoulder.

"No, but she taught me how to do that." She grinned in satisfaction as the puppeteer gasped from the impact. He growled at her as she broke control of Karasu, heading to the kitchen.

"Little bitch." Kankuro chuckled, shaking his head and following along.

"Watch it." Tenten warned, pulling the 'cake' out with chakra strings, dousing it with water first, then dumping it into the trash immediately. She glanced over at Kankuro. "Let me see your bruises. I'll heal them." She offered after a moment of silence.

"I'm fine." Kankuro shrugged. He didn't seem to be affected by the bruises any more.

"No, I want to. Practice, remember?" She reminded, her hands already glowing.

Kankuro grinned, shaking his head. "You just want to see me shirtless." He grumbled in a low voice, pulling off his shirt. Tenten rolled her eyes, making the two hand signs.

"Please. You just want to take off your shirt." She began to skim the orbs of green chakra over the blotches of purple and blue in contrast to the tan skin.

--

The next day at dusk, five shinobi stood by the gates of Konoha. All three were clad in black, even the orange-obsessed ninja. Shizune approached them, staring at Sakura.

"Has she?" She asked vaguely.

"No." Sakura shook her head.

"Very well." Shizune glanced at the ninja. "Good luck on your mission." She smiled, her hands clasped together unconsciously. "Return safe."

With that, the gates creaked open, and five silhouettes disappeared in blurs.

--

A/N: Would anyone kill me if I gave Kakashi twins? Just a thought. SasuTen/KankuTen still open to those 'votes' and I'm still pondering the Konan/Naruto thing. It'll probably be friendship though, because I can't really fit in Konan/Naruto bonding time.

Comments? Questions? Reviews? Tell me!


	5. Bodyguard

Total War

Chapter Four: Bodyguard

--

"Yes Danzo-sama? You called for me?" Sai stood at the door of Danzo's 'office', which was slang for a makeshift tent.

"Five ninja left the village yesterday night as part of a mission involving the condition of Tsunade." Danzo began. "Two were Sunagakure ninja, three were Konohagakure ninja." He pulled out a file. "They were Godaime Kazekage Sabaku no Gaara, Sabaku no Kankuro, Haruno Sakura, a female named Tenten, and Uzumaki Naruto." He listed the ninja off. "They did not have my authorization to leave the village." He stated coldly. "Find them and bring them back."

"Yes sir." Sai nodded.

--

"This is so boring!" Naruto exclaimed. "I mean, it doesn't get any more boring than this!" He whined.

"Naruto shush." Sakura stated softly. She focused on running, and thought about Danzo's new 'rule'.

"I can't believe Sasuke could be dead right now." Naruto sighed.

"What makes you think Sasuke-kun is dead?" Sakura asked softly. The two lagged behind in the group, so that their conversation was somewhat more private.

"Just this negative feeling. Especially since that bastard Danzo announced to all of Konoha that it's encouraged to kill Sasuke on sight." Naruto shook his head, and Sakura was somewhat alarmed by the serious tone Naruto held.

"Excuse me dolls, but are you talking about the Uchiha boy?" The dull side of the Katana grazed Sakura's neck, sending chills down her spine. The Sabaku boys and Tenten were no where in sight.

"Why, what do you want?" Naruto took note of the two figures. One was a female, with dark chocolate skin, and wild long black hair. She was the katana wielder. The other person was a male with dark tan skin, and bright orange hair. Both had hitai-ite with the Kumogakure symbol engraved.

"We want to kill Uchiha, Sasuke." The female announced. "He took our master! We have no way of knowing if he's alive or dead!" Her fists were clenched in anger.

"Why would Sasuke-kun do that?!" Sakura began to scream.

"Because he works for the damn Akatsuki!" The male snapped in a harsh tone.

Sakura's eyes widened. "N-no…no that's not possible." She stuttered in disbelief. "He wouldn't join the same organization as his brother." She tried to reason.

"Unless…" Naruto began, shooting a worried glance at Sakura.

"Unless his brother is dead." She whispered. She paused for a moment, the drama lingering in the air. "But that's still not possible! From Day One Sasuke said that he swore to kill a certain someone, and if that certain someone is dead, then he has no reason to be a missing-nin anymore!" She blabbered.

"Well while you guys were letting him run with no leash, we were taking a whooping to the behind." The female spoke with attitude and an accent. "Raikage sent us to Ko-no-ha, and that Hokage of yours –wonderful man, really – gave us permission to slit that fair-skinned, black-haired prodigy on spot." She smirked triumphantly. "So you had better hope you get to him before we do."

"See you later."

And with that, Naruto and Sakura were alone. Sakura stared at Naruto, her eyes full of worry and despair. Naruto was just as worried, but he simply masked it in a more effective manner.

"Are you guys ok?" Tenten's eyes were visible from the shadows of a tree, and only half of her silhouette was to be seen.

"Yeah. We're fine." Sakura nodded. "Let's go." She continued along. "How long have we been traveling for?"

"About a day now, we're almost half way to Suna." Kankuro replied.

"Correct. Nice to see you again Uzumaki-san." A female voice stated. All five ninja looked up to see Konan sitting on a branch. "Don't worry, I mean you no harm."

"Hi Konan." Naruto grinned, waving at the former-Akatsuki member. "How's Amegakure?" He asked.

"Wet." Konan leapt down to the same level as the ninja. Sand immediately encompassed her, and Karasu was less than three feet away. Tenten's scroll was pulled out and Sakura's gloves were on immediately, her arm already pulled back to punch.

"No! She's fine." Naruto insisted, stepping between Konan and the weapons. "She's fine."

"Naruto, are you defending this rogue ninja?" Sakura asked slowly, her eyes widening with horror.

"Sakura-chan she said she meant us no harm, and I know she means it." Naruto insisted. The sand began to slither away from Konan, but Karasu was still on guard. Tenten put away her scroll; however Sakura still kept an offensive stance.

"She destroyed our village." Sakura seethed.

"And it's going to happen again." Konan stated. "That's why I'm here." She explained.

"Excuse me?" Sakura frowned. "Mind repeating that?" Her eyes narrowed.

"Oh, not me. I'm not going to harm your village." Konan quickly added. "But a certain Uchiha plans on making his mark on Konoha history."

"Liar!" Sakura screamed, throwing a punch at Konan. Her hand went right through the kunoichi, paper fluttering here and there.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto growled. "Let her talk!" He turned to Konan. "Continue."

Konan stepped away from Sakura, facing the five ninja. "Sasuke Uchiha plans on destroying Konoha after it's somewhat rebuilt. And when I say destroy, I don't mean wrecking all the buildings, and killing a small portion of the population. I mean that this boy is determined to kill every soul in the village." She stared directly at Sakura and Naruto. "Including yours."

Naruto's eyes narrowed, not from anger, but from deep thought. He stared at Konan long and hard before speaking. "How do you know this?" He asked.

"Simple. He asked me to help." Konan stated. "I plan to intercept him halfway, and take him out." She paused. "It would be easier if I had help." She added.

Sakura and Naruto exchanged glances. Sakura stared at Konan. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" She asked.

"Depends. Are you going to assault me?" Konan asked, crossing her arms.

"No. Gaara, put us in a sand shell." Sakura instructed. Gaara glanced to Naruto, who nodded. A sand shell rose, capturing Konan and Sakura in privacy.

"Yes?" Konan asked, leaning against the shell.

"I need you to take the other female in our group. Tenten." Sakura stated.

"Rather demanding, aren't you?" Konan arched an eyebrow. She saw no reason as to why she should assist a female who attacked her to kill.

"Look." Sakura sighed. "Tenten can't be in Konoha." She began.

"Oh? Why?" Konan seemed interested.

--

"Okay. I'll mentor her." Konan reluctantly agreed. "Under one condition."

"And what is that?" Sakura arched an eyebrow.

"No more suspicion of me." Konan stated. "I'm your ally now, so face it. Oh, and Tenten's going to become an Ame shinobi."

"I'm all good with the suspicion issue." Sakura crossed her arms. "How much trouble could Tenten get in back at Konoha if she goes Ame?" She asked slowly.

"Think of it as a…binding. It could be the alliance between Konoha and Ame." Konan suggested, a triumphant smirk gracing her fair face.

"I'm not sure if I have the power to approve such a notion." Sakura stated reluctantly.

"Well then think of it as the alliance between Ame, you, Naruto, and me." Konan gave an almost non-visible smile. "I'll bring her for a visit in less than two months, as I plan to intercept the Uchiha on his way to Konoha."

"Oh…I'm not sure if Tenten and Sasuke meeting is such a good idea." Sakura reluctantly whispered.

"She'll be ready." Konan stated. "Now how the hell do we get out of here?" She asked. The sand slowly dispersed, leaving Sakura to look at Gaara questioningly. A light pink tinge brushed over the pale male's skin, and Sakura shook her head with a disbelieving smile on her face. He'd been eavesdropping.

"Tenten, ne?" Konan approached the Chinese girl with the twin buns.

"Hai." Tenten nodded slowly. "That's me." She eyed Konan.

"Konan, Leader of Amegakure." Konan bowed.

"Tenten, you're going to be going with Konan." Sakura began slowly. "This mission wasn't for you to run an errand for Shizune; it was so that we could safely get you out of the village." She continued. "Konoha isn't safe for you now, and I know I'm not giving you any details at all, but you're just going to have to trust me. Konan is taking you as her apprentice. She's one of the most skilled Kunoichi there is, after all, she was the only female in the Akatsuki." Sakura sighed. "We'll see you in less than two months, but you're just going to have to cope."

Tenten stared at Sakura. She had many questions that she was dying to ask, she just didn't know how to word them. Her mouth was open, as if she was preparing to talk, but no words came. She tried again, but the words didn't come, and she heaved a deep sigh.

"Will I ever find out why?" Tenten finally managed to ask. Sakura smiled, nodding her head slowly. "Very well then." Tenten stepped next to Konan. "I guess this is goodbye?"

"Yes." Sakura nodded slowly. Gaara stepped forward.

"Here." He tossed a small satin pouch tied with a gold string to Tenten, she caught it with ease. It felt weighted, and Tenten could tell that it contained sand.

Kankuro stepped forward, bringing Tenten into an awkward hug. "Here Panda." He reached into his pocket, digging out a scroll. "Since you seem to love scrolls so much." Tenten chuckled softly, staring at the scroll. She put it away, smiling. Kankuro leaned in, giving a light kiss to her cheek and he flicked the bottom of her chin with his index finger. "You'll always be my Panda." He grinned, chuckling, before stepping back. Tenten's face flustered slightly.

Naruto stepped forward, almost unsure as to what he was going to do. "I wasn't exactly filled in that we were supposed to bring something." He grumbled, digging through his pockets.

"Don't worry, its fine Naruto, you don't have to give me anything." Tenten laughed, speaking softly.

"Oh!" Naruto pulled out what appeared to be a rubber band. "Jiraiya-sensei gave me this." He placed it around her wrist.

"I can't take something you got from Jiraiya Naruto." Tenten reached to pull it off, but Naruto's hands clenched her wrist, keeping the band around her wrist.

"Take it." Naruto grinned. "He gave me 9 more just like that. Indestructible, but it has an elastic touch. Super handy in battle." Naruto winked, causing Tenten to laugh.

Tenten felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to face Sakura. Sakura gave a small smile, before untying the Konoha hitai-ite around Tenten's forehead. Dark brown bangs rested over an olive forehead, a style that hadn't been worn in the longest amount of time. Sakura tucked the hitai-ite in her pouch, and pulled out a small bundle, wrapped in canvas and some string.

"Good luck Tenten-san." Sakura gave her trainee a big hug. "You're going to be well-rounded in no time." She promised. "See you in two months."

"Less than two months." Tenten reminded happily.

Sakura laughed. "Right, less than two months." She nodded.

"Let's go." Konan tried to get Tenten to leave without ruining the moment.

"Bye you guys." Tenten's eyes grew misty, and she noticed Sakura's did as well. She choked back the urge to cry, chanting rules of being a shinobi in her mind.

"Wait!" Sakura cried. Tenten paused, while Konan grew a little reckless. "I need some blood on your hitai-ite." She pulled out the band. Tenten extended an arm, and Sakura nicked it, some blood coming out onto the kunai and fabric. She pulled off a glove, quickly healing the small cut, and smeared all of the blood onto the band. "Ok, bye." And with that, Konan and Tenten were gone.

--

"Ready…go!" Konan held up a timer, and Tenten ran off into the course. She began to do multiple flips as Konan had set up a somewhat lethal obstacle course. She dodged the swinging knives, and noticed the large ditch coming up. The ditch was filled with poisoned senbon, and Tenten made a hand sign, channeling chakra to her feet.

When she reached the very edge of the ditch, Tenten leapt up, the extra chakra helping her soar across the large and lethal hole. She tucked and rolled in mid-air, uncurling to land on her two feet. She wobbled slightly, forcing herself to fall forward if anything, so that she wouldn't risk falling into the hole.

Tenten was also completely unarmed. If there was one thing she realized Konan loved most, it was that Konan enjoyed torturing her. Ok, maybe not torture, but Konan loved to push Tenten to the limit. Konan reminded her of Gai, in the sense that both wanted her to succeed, however Konan simply executed this better. Gai never made her run laps around Amegakure, while it rained, with a large block of wood tied to her back. Not only was Amegakure's perimeter filled with more obstacles than Konoha's, but it also seemed larger. Tenten decided to keep it quiet about Gai's love for arm and leg weights.

In the package Sakura had given Tenten were two black leather gloves, perfect for her taijutsu practice. Tenten wore the gloves at the moment, and she ran around the obstacle course, hair flapping in her face.

Konan also disliked it when she wore her hair up. She said it's better to train in the worst conditions, and fight in the easiest, than the opposite. She demanded that Tenten wear her hair down while training, so that fighting would be much easier. Konan also liked to point out the flaws in Tenten's attire. Apparently baggy clothing tended to slow down a ninja, instead of skin tight clothing. This was coming from the female who had worn a large oversized cloak for a minimum of 3 years.

"Faster! I want you dead when you finish!" Konan yelled, glancing at her timer. 13 minutes. Tenten leapt over a thick wooden beam, twirling in the air. Konan heard her scream as she realized that her 'landing pad' was not simple dirt, but irregularly shaped rocks. Konan nodded slowly to herself as a moment later she heard squeals of dismay when Tenten encountered the invisible bamboo sticks.

Tenten ran through the course, and it began to rain. It always rained in Amegakure. Always. Whether it was a light rain or a hard rain depended on the weather of the day before. It tended to alternate: light, hard, light, hard. She dodged two pendulums, tucking and rolling into the finish line. Konan stopped the timer.

"Fifteen minutes." Konan gave her the time, pursing her lips. "You can do better." Tenten's exasperated look held no match for Konan's persistent one. "Go again."

--

"So let's get the story straight." Sakura instructed. The three nin around her nodded. "We got attacked by-" She paused, stopping altogether. Her eyes narrowed, and she turned her head slightly, concentrating immensely on the chakra signatures around her. She felt more than the three around her…she felt four more. "Who's there?" She called out, fingers looping around a kunai instinctively.

"Wow, that's kind of pathetic." A deep male voice criticized. Her heart nearly stopped, and she saw the shock on Naruto's face.

"Teme?" Naruto called out hesitantly, as if he was unsure of the hidden ninja.

"Dobe." Sasuke dropped down from the trees, three unfamiliar figures dropping behind him.

"Pink hair? How…ugly." The redhead female beside Sasuke seethed through her teeth.

"Shut up Karin." Sasuke muttered, stepping forward. "I thought it was odd when she mentioned your names." He chuckled slightly, referring to Konan's drop in.

"She?" Sakura arched an eyebrow in suspicion. The words of the Kumo shinobi recapped in her mind, and she eyed Sasuke and his team mates. None of them were wearing Akatsuki cloaks. This caused multiple questions to form in her mind, though she dismissed them.

"Konan of Amegakure." Sasuke shook his head, his bangs shifting away from his face. "We had a run-in a few days back." He stated simply. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"We're on a mission." Sakura answered, her eyes narrowing. "And you?"

Sasuke glanced to Suigetsu. "Secure the perimeter." He stated, and then turned to Juugo and Karin. "Prepare yourselves." Suigetsu leapt up into the trees.

"She asked a question." Gaara spoke up, his arms crossed. He didn't like the Uchiha's attitude at the moment, and the words he spoke to his team mates suggested that they might engage in a fight. The sand in Gaara's gourd fizzed, as if preparing

"Asking someone a question doesn't guarantee that the person will answer it." Sasuke stated simply. He ignored the scowl of Naruto, and instead glanced at Sakura. "You have some of Konan's chakra signature on you." He glanced at Gaara. "As do you."

"That's right." Gaara gave a slow but small nod of the head. "We do."

"Why is that?" Karin butted in, earning a small glare from her superiors.

"We had a run in with her, and she killed one of our team mates." Kankuro improvised, deciding to hide the truth from the Uchiha. He earned a grateful look from Sakura, and the two glanced to see the Uchiha's reaction.

"Really? Who?" Sasuke asked, though his voice clearly implied that he was not the least bit interested. Karin yawned beside him, and water dropped to the ground, bouncing up to form one of Sasuke's team mates, Suigetsu.

"Tenten." Sakura stated. She ignored the stare drilling into her back, courtesy of Naruto. She'd have a lot of explaining to do on the remainder of the way back to Konoha.

"I don't know her, but I don't believe you." Sasuke shook his head.

"Nani?" Sakura was taken aback. "Why?"

"And you call yourself smart." Sasuke shook his head. "What was the first lesson Kakashi taught us?" He asked slowly.

"Teamwork." Naruto replied, stepping forward.

"Exactly. I know for a fact that you both took down Akatsuki members in smaller teams than the one you're currently in, so why is it that you couldn't kill a member this time?" Sasuke pointed out. "Show me the proof that the ninja is dead." He stated persistently.

Sakura pulled out the bloody hitai-ite, and handed it to Sasuke. He examined it for a moment, Karin peering over his shoulder. It was no longer than a minute before he threw it back at Sakura.

"Fake. The layer of blood is thin like butter. Unrealistic." Sasuke shook his head. "I was hoping for a challenge." He glanced to Suigetsu.

"Clear." Suigetsu nodded. Sasuke motioned them off, and the three members ascended to the trees. Only the original Team 7 and the Suna boys remained.

"Next time I hope to be presented with a challenge." Sasuke spoke. "Next time I see you, I intend for you to attack me as if you are going to kill." His voice was cold and emotionless, sending a shiver down Sakura's spine. "Goodbye Dobe," He paused, acknowledging his former team members. "Sakura." And with that, the Uchiha was gone.

--

A/N: I feel hypocritical. The tally for now is KankuTen: 2 SasuTen: 1. However as the story is being planned further and further, SasuTen might be my only option. The clever ones will know why. I hope you people are enjoying this story!


	6. Konan's Apprentice

Total War

Chapter Five: Konan's Apprentice

--

"Good to see you back in one piece." Konan stood at the doorway of the small apartment Tenten had managed to obtain while in Amegakure. A rather big bag was slung over her shoulder, and it looked rather stuffed. Tenten was practicing her puppeteer skills, cooking with her chakra strings.

"Anything I can get you?" Tenten asked, frying up some rice. The smells wafted towards the door, and Konan inhaled, smiling at the appealing scent.

"Just some of that rice." Konan entered the room, leaning on the counter. "How was the mission?" She asked, trying to figure out if Tenten was being challenged enough. She didn't want the missions to be too easy for her apprentice.

"Good. I think I healed about 6 people, though none of the injuries were major." Tenten tried to recall her achievements. A chakra string was sent to the cupboard, pulling out a sauce. "All my attacks were on point; after all, they don't call me 100% accurate for nothing." She smirked, concentrating on her cooking. If she had been looking at her superior, she would not have missed the small smile of approval on the pale female's face.

"I brought you something." Konan stated softly, pulling a small parcel from behind her back. She set it on the counter, and Tenten glanced at it.

"What is it?" The girl asked, sending chakra strings up into a cupboard for two bowls. Another chakra string went into a drawer, fishing out two pairs of chopsticks.

"You'll see. Eat first." Konan insisted as she took the parcel back into possession. Tenten poured some rice into both bowls, and two chakra strings stuck to both bowls, lifting them up. One was sent to Konan, who accepted the bowl happily. She grabbed both pairs of chopsticks and went to the table, Tenten following behind.

"Any more 'special training'?" Tenten asked, stuffing some rice into her mouth. She hadn't eaten a decent meal since before the mission, which was about 3 days prior. Konan was silent for a moment, slipping bits of rice and other ingredients into her mouth.

"Special, no. Hard core, yes." Konan looked up at Tenten. "I've set up a special course for you. It's planned out very nicely." She took the liberty of saying. "It will test you in five core subjects: taijutsu, genjutsu, puppetry, medical skills, and weaponry. Your final test will be going head to head against me."

Tenten coughed. "I don't need training in weaponry." She stated rather confidently. She was only so bold to say that for the fact that she knew she excelled in weaponry, therefore did not need to practice it anymore. Konan's lips twitched into a smirk.

"I know. A little test won't hurt." She insisted. "I want to see how well you can hold up." She stated vaguely. The two ate in silence for the duration of the meal, and when the last grain of rice had been eaten, Konan pulled out the parcel again.

Tenten took it from her master, and un-wrapped it. She stared at the contents, confused, before pulling them out. A red cheongsam top similar to Konan's was folded at the top. Below it were small black shorts, similar to that of Karin's, though Tenten didn't know it yet. Then there were open toed, heeled boots.

"You're setting me up for death aren't you?" Tenten asked incredulously, holding up her mid drift shirt, tiny shorts, and heeled shoes. Konan rolled her eyes, finding Tenten's reaction completely melodramatic.

"Nope." Konan reached inside her bag, pulling out arm and leg weights. "_Now_ I'm setting you up for death." She smirked at her student. "Wear these everyday during our exercises, and by the time of your final course, you'll be one of the most agile kunoichi in Amegakure."

Tenten sighed. "I see." She watched Konan pull out a single red ribbon. She arched an eyebrow, taking the small hair accessory as Konan held it out to her. "For my hair?" She asked.

"Yes." Konan smiled secretively, causing Tenten to frown in suspicion. Tenten examined the hair ribbon, before something dawned upon her.

"There's only one."

"Yes. There is only one."

"I wear my hair in two buns."

"Not anymore." Konan stood up, standing behind Tenten. She struggled for a moment trying to untie Tenten's buns, and then raked her fingers through the loose braids. She took part of the top layer of the hair, twirling it into a bun similar to that of hers, and she tied it in place with a hair tie. "Give me the ribbon." She stated in a soft tone. Her student slipped the ribbon into her fingers. Konan wrapped the ribbon around the single bun, and tied a bow. "There."

--

Kakashi stared at his two students, a pinch away from pure rage. They came back from a mission, abandoned the Sand brothers, and then claim to see the blasted Uchiha who left the village years ago. Oh, and they lost Gai's girl on the mission. He was in complete shock, and he didn't know what the heck to say in response.

Kakashi drew a breath. "How did the girl die again?" He asked slowly, rubbing his visible temple. Naruto then began speaking in the very loud voice that only Naruto seemed to have. That didn't help the growing migraine deep inside Kakashi's head.

"Konan came and she-" Yar yar yar. Kakashi seemed to zone out as Naruto spoke.

"Kakashi-sensei are you even listening?" The rosette demanded. Kakashi winced slightly. He stood corrected, Sakura also managed to have a loud voice.

"Hai, hai." Kakashi waved. "My head just hurts, that's all." He muttered.

"We plan to form an alliance to take down the 6th, and put a rightful Hokage in charge." Sakura stated softly, as to not be heard. Kakashi's head snapped up.

"Nani!?" He hissed incredulously. "What in the world would give you such an idea?" He demanded.

"Um…Kakashi-sensei it was my idea." Naruto waved his hand rather hesitantly. Kakashi stared at him for a moment.

"Is this an attempt to become Hokage Naruto? Because I can tell you that if it is-"

"No. We plan on nominating _you_ as Hokage." Naruto stated. There was no humor in his voice, in fact, this had to be one of the few times Kakashi had seen Naruto in such a serious state. This was unlike his normal determined state; this one seemed much more driven and passionate. He just didn't understand why.

"Naruto _you_ want to be Hokage. Not me." Kakashi sighed, sitting down on a rock.

Naruto stared at Kakashi long and hard. "I want to be Hokage more than anything else. I'm just not 100% ready." He stated. "You're one of the most able shinobi I've ever met Kakashi-sensei, and I've met a lot of shinobi."

"I know you have Naruto." Kakashi replied. "But think! The consequences to this are death, banishment, a lifetime in jail." He shook his head. "I don't think it's worth it." He glanced at Sakura. "I'd think that you of all people would have been able to think something like this through before coming to me about it." He shook his head. "I'm really disappointed in you two right now." He muttered, before walking off.

The drive that both held to protecting their _ex_- comrade was unbelievable. He found himself wandering into the cemetery, to Obito's grave. Maybe if he'd shown that enthusiasm towards protecting Rin, she'd still be there. He vividly remembered the day they'd brought back the bloody headband. Then the day he found out that Rin's name would not be joining Obito's on the headstone that held all of the ninja who had died in battle. That was the first noted day that Hatake, Kakashi had lost his temper.

--

"Do you want to tell Lee?" Naruto asked Sakura as the duo walked down the center of Konoha. Sakura stared at Naruto.

"Better Lee than Neji." She muttered. "The Hyuuga will gentle fist your face off." She shuddered. Naruto frowned.

"We should tell them all together." He stated. "What was the excuse for her name not making it on that giant headstone?" he wondered, forgetting.

"Um…I'm not sure. We'll have to keep postponing the date for carving it." Sakura shrugged. She froze as Gai, Lee, and Neji walked along. "I guess Gai and Lee returned from their mission." She gulped.

Naruto froze as well. "Me too." He stated. He felt guilty as Lee ran up to him, giving him a 'youthful' hug, while going on a tirade about how youthful his mission with Gai was.

"Lee-kun, Neji-san, Gai-sensei…we need to talk to you." Sakura stated nervously.

"Right! Shizune mentioned that Tenten had accompanied you on a mission!" Gai made the 'nice guy' pose, while Neji frowned.

"About that…" Naruto trailed off. Lee released his death grip on the demon fox, and stepped back.

"What about it Naruto? Has something happened to Tenten-chan? Is she in the hospital?" Lee's questions blurted out one after another. Sakura and Naruto exchanged glances.

"No." Naruto answered. He exchanged another glance at Sakura, who pulled out the headband. Gai and Lee gasped, while Neji's eyes narrowed intently.

"Tell me that isn't hers." Neji stated in a tone more lethal than usual.

"Depends who 'her' is." Naruto tried to stretch this out as much as possible. He tried to act as guilty as the situation allowed.

"Don't be stupid Naruto. We only have one female on the team who happens to not be here at the moment, and Sakura here pulls out a bloody headband. Is Tenten alive or not?" Neji asked, stepping forward. Naruto stepped back, Sakura setting a hand on his shoulder.

"Not." Naruto whispered. Internally he was cheering himself on for his Oscar Performance, but he had to keep a straight face.

Neji took the headband, studying it. Naruto prayed that Neji wouldn't find the flaw that Sasuke had found. Neji clenched the headband, his head bowing to meet the ground. Sakura could hear the sigh come from his lips, before he turned and walked off.

"Excuse Neji…he's just sad." Gai's voice cracked. "We all are." He muttered. "Today is a very un-youthful day." He muttered. "Come along Lee." The two green beasts of Konoha walked off as well, in an opposite direction of the Hyuuga.

--

"I'm going to tell you a little about your past." Konan stated, sitting on the futon. Tenten immediately sat next to her, the single sentence managing to capture her entire attention. "I'm going to tell you who your mother is."

Tenten stared at Konan. "Okay." She whispered. "Tell me." Her heart race accelerated as she watched Konan shift uncomfortably. She knew that Konan might've been given directions to keep this kind of information away from her, and she was touched that Konan would go out deliberately and tell her.

"Your mother is Godaime Hokage Tsunade."

--

A/N: This was mostly a filler chapter, to kind of set the tone for the next chapter. The next chapter will only have Tenten and Konan in it, for the 'final exam'.

Before people get on my back about Tenten being a Senju, just wait. If her father isn't clear, then it will be in chapter 7 (2 chapters from now)


	7. The Everything Course

Total War

Chapter Six: The Everything Course

--

--Test 1: Taijutsu

"Tenten, this is Akihiro, an Amegakure taijutsu specialist." Konan introduced her student to one of Ame's famous taijutsu specialists. Akihiro nodded to Tenten.

Tenten wore the outfit Konan had gifted her with. She was completely weaponless at the moment, but found that she could hide a good amount of weapons in her outfit, if she placed them just right. She focused on the task at hand, defeating the taijutsu male. She pulled on the gloves Sakura had given to her.

"Let's do this." She smirked. She noticed Konan leap out of the course boundaries, and the timer was pulled out.

"He has to be down for at least 10 seconds for you to pass. Go." Konan smirked.

Tenten immediately dodged a punch from Akihiro, she roundhouse kicked, feeling his hand block her kick. His hands clenched around her foot, and she frowned. This was a rather bad position to be stuck in. She focused chakra to her feet, kicking up, and flipping backwards. She landed on her stomach, inhaling sharply from the contact.

She pressed her hands to the ground, kicking her legs out to trip Akihiro, but she missed. She frowned, rising back up to her feet. She focused chakra to her fist, punching Akihiro. She landed the punch, and he stumbled back a few feet, but there was no time to celebrate her land.

Akihiro began to punch her, and he managed to land all of his punches, due to the fact that Tenten could not move quickly enough. She attempted to channel her chakra to her abdominal area, to strengthen it up, and avoid the pain.

Tenten had to move quickly to tear her weights off, and she felt relief. She sprinted away, channeling chakra to her fist. She punched the ground like she'd seen Sakura do many times. A crack split in the earth, and it was aimed towards Akihiro.

Akihiro sprung back, landing on the fence that marked the perimeter of the course. He lunched towards Tenten. In a second's reaction, she channeled chakra to her fist, pulling it back and sending it forward. Akihiro was sent flying.

"How?" Tenten gasped, shocked at her reflex. Akihiro landed on the ground, and Tenten wasted no time over shock. She lunged at Akihiro, punching him as hard as she could manage without the help of her chakra.

"Twenty minutes. Good job." Konan stated from above. "Taijutsu: Pass."

--Test 2: Genjutsu

"I have to work on the same course?" Tenten stared at Konan. The bluenette nodded slowly, and Tenten stepped onto the destroyed course.

"Ok then." She frowned. She could faintly make out the words 'go', and she felt rather nauseous. At least, she thought she felt nauseous. Was she already in a genjutsu?

She remembered how to escape a genjutsu! You had to make a hand sign…but what sign? Tenten felt herself wobbling as she attempted to walk. Was she upside down? She could see the ground from an aerial view.

Tenten tried to move her arms, but was shocked to find that she didn't have any. How could she escape with no arms?!

_"Hello."_ A sickeningly raspy voice greeted. Tenten looked up to see a monster approaching her.

"W-who are you!?" Tenten demanded. "Leave me alone!" The monster approached slowly, looking as if it had some kind of tentacles under its cloak. Slimy hands grasped her face, and she inhaled a vile smell. It almost made her want to puke.

Blerch.

Correction. It _did_ make her puke.

"Lea-leave meyalone." Tenten slurred, she felt absolutely nauseated. If she had a mirror, she swore she'd turn up green. The smell caused her to vomit another time, and she felt weak and helpless.

In a flash she was snapped back to reality, where she was standing on the course with vomit around her. She saw Konan shaking her head.

"Genjutsu: Fail."

--Test 3: Puppetry

"I don't have a puppet." Tenten stated slowly. Konan pulled out a scroll and tossed it to Tenten. Tenten caught the scroll, staring at it. She frowned, rather confused at the parchment.

"This is just the scroll Kankuro gave me." She muttered, unrolling it. She found a bunch of summoning marks. Tenten's eyes widened and she pulled off one of her gloves, biting her thumb. She smeared some blood on the scroll, performing a few hand seals. A puppet emerged from the scroll, along with a note.

_Panda_

_Since you liked mine so much, I thought I'd get one for you_

_Kuresuna is her name (Get it? Kure- Suna? As in Sunagakure?)_

_Try not to destroy her. I don't like fixing puppets._

_-K_

Tenten chuckled at Kankuro's lame reason for naming the puppet Kuresuna, but was touched by the thought.

"You'll go up against an ordinary opponent. Good luck!" Konan smiled. "Go!"

An Ame shinobi emerged, and Tenten sent chakra strings to Kuresuna. The puppet sprung to life and Tenten frowned, unsure of how to use her puppet. She pulled back her right pinky. Gas released from the stomach. Tenten dove behind some foliage on the course, and continued to try out the 'switches'. Right index finger. An array of kunai shot out. Right index and right thumb. Right hand punch. Tenten grinned, that one would come in handy.

A few minutes later Tenten had all the controls down. She controlled Kuresuna with her right hand, and controlled the variety of weapons that had been shot out of Kuresuna with her left hand.

Tenten threw punches at the ninja through Kuresuna, happy to land them each time. She threw a kunai via chakra string, just hitting off target. She frowned; she'd have to work on her accuracy with chakra strings. Then an idea popped into her head. Was Kuresuna re-armed?

She managed to corner the ninja into the corner of the perimeter, and she sent off the discarded weapons, as well as attempting to have Kuresuna release weapons, while punching. No more weapons came from Kuresuna, though she did punch. The ninja flopped to the ground.

"Puppetry: Pass!" Konan cheered.

--Test 4: Medical Skills

"Okay. For this test you now have to save him." Konan pointed to the ninja Tenten had just defeated. "And him." She pointed to Akihiro. "And any other patient that happens to wobble on in here." She smiled, giving thumbs up. "Oh…and you have to do this in less than 10 minutes…go!"

Tenten ran over to Akihiro, almost tripping in her heels as she did. She pulled off her gloves, stuffing them into the waist band of her shorts. Making two hand signs, Tenten waited to see the green aura around her hand before she began to skim the bruises that blotched Akihiro's pale skin. Were all Amegakure people this pale?

Most of the bruises had healed when she got up, the green aura flickering from existence. She then ran over to the Ame-nin she'd fought, groaning at his worse conditions. Her hands formed the two signs, and she got to work quickly. Instead of fully healing each wound, she focused on healing each wound fairly well, then moving onto the next wound, so that she could heal more of the ninja.

She noticed people coming into the course, and she groaned. She was moving from person to person, healing simple things like paper cuts, to bloody noses, to harder tasks like broken arms and large gashes. 7 minutes through, Tenten fainted.

"Medical Skills: Fail."

-- Test 5: Weaponry

"Okay Tenten. This is your area of expertise. You had better not fail." Konan smirked. Targets of all kinds were scattered through the courses. Moving targets, still targets, dead bodies with bull's eyes drawn on, bull's eyes on the ground. "Go."

Tenten grabbed her two scrolls from the ground, placing them in the center of the course, where it was free of targets. She made quick hand seals. "Ox, Snake, Snake: Sōshōryū!" She cried, setting off her Twin Rising Dragon Control attack. The scrolls began to release smoke before blasting off into the air, creating the image of twin dragons. Tenten launched herself into the center of the scrolls, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she closed her eyes, envisioning the course. She began to fall.

With the flick of a wrist here, and a twitch of the finger there, Tenten sent the projectiles out of the column she'd created. Arrays of weapons showered down to the earth, though each one hit a bull's eye. Sometimes more than one weapon would share a bull's eye. Konan smirked, watching from a safe distance.

"Weaponry: Pass" She stated not halfway through.

-- Final Test: The Boss

"You've done well, winning 3 and failing 2." Konan smiled. "Now is the ultimate test. You have to fight me." She smirked. "You can use whatever weapons you want. I'll say when the fight is over." She made a hand sign. "Go." And she disappeared in paper.

Tenten scanned the entire course with her eyes, and her sensei was no where to be found. A kick to her back sent her flying face first into the ground, and she whirled around quick, grabbing a kunai implanted into the ground. She sent it flying, knocking one of Konan's paper shuriken off course.

Tenten could only think of one thing, and that was to use a fire technique. She knew she had learned some while in Team Gai, she just could not remember them at the moment. All she could do at the moment was dodge and deflect.

The next moment was a blur. Paper projectiles flew out at her, cutting the bare part of her skin. She shrieked at the pain, raising her arms to shield herself. Taijutsu wouldn't work on Konan. She grabbed a kunai throwing it towards her mentor. The kunai went straight through Konan, paper fluttering aside to make way for the paper. Tenten began to get anxious. Her weapon attack would be no good either. Medical skills are near useless at the moment; she can't perform genjutsu…that leaves puppetry.

Tenten whipped out the scroll, Kuresuna emerging. She sent chakra strings to the puppet, the wooden creature flying out towards Konan. She could hear the razor sharp cuts as Konan projected paper towards her weapon. Tenten was also very impatient. She yanked her chakra strings back, bringing Kuresuna with her. She leapt up, leaping towards Konan.

Chakra circulated towards her fists as she threw punches at her teacher, upset with her failure. She could feel the paper parting as her fist made impact with Konan's body.

--

Twenty minutes later, Tenten weakly stood her ground, paper cuts decorating her entire body. She was gasping for air, wondering how she'd even managed to come along this far in the battle. Two shuriken cut her, and she crumpled to the ground.

"The Boss: Fail."

--

A/N: Okay, so I got a lot of reviews for the last chapter! That made my day. It really did.

Someone asked if Dan was the father, no he is not.

Another question asked if Tenten got her father's looks, since she looks nothing like Tsunade. That would be a yes. When I first unveil the father, many will not know who he is, although he is a real Naruto character. Then you will question Tenten's looks again, but I managed to plan it just right.

I'm sorry if this chapter was disappointing, It's disappointing to me truth be told, but I'm very bad at writing out battle scenes.


	8. Uchiha

Total War

Chapter Seven: Uchiha

--

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok."

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok."

"I'm sorry."

"Tenten. It's ok. Why are you even apologizing?" Konan and Tenten sprinted through foliage, traveling via the high branches. It had been 48 hours since Tenten's 'Everything Course' which she happened to fail.

"I failed you." Tenten sighed, fussing with her bangs. Konan smacked her wrist, to tell the brunette to keep her hands out of her hair.

"No you didn't." Konan sighed. "I failed you." She looked on ahead, concentrating on the chakra signatures.

"How?" Tenten frowned, finding this near impossible. She'd learned more with Konan than she had in the past year.

"I was rushed into being your Sensei, and I should've had you do the Everything Course first. That way I could've helped you to strengthen your weak points, and have you taken the test again." Konan stated.

"It's fine. I learned enough." Tenten sighed. "Why did I have to learn so much?" She asked after a moment. "I mean, no one's ever given a second glance at me, I've been the shadow, the person in the crowd. So why do I have to learn stuff now?" She continued her little rant. "Is it because I'm the daughter of the fifth?" She hadn't brought that topic up since the night Konan had told her. "Is that why Sakura was teaching me so much taijutsu and medical skills? So I could live up to my 'family name'?" She asked.

"No. Trust me. If you were to live up to your family name we wouldn't have even taught you puppetry, taijutsu, or medical skills." Konan smirked, shaking her head. "You'll be shocked at your father's side."

"Great…now I'm curious." Tenten frowned. Konan shushed her, a reminder to keep focus on the mission at hand: intercepting Team Taka.

"Do you sense the Uchiha's chakra signature?" Konan hissed lightly. Had Tenten not been paying attention, she would've dismissed Konan's voice as spraying water from the waterfalls nearby.

"No." Tenten whispered back. "I've seen him a maximum of 6 times."

"Wonderful." Konan muttered sarcastically.

--

"I hear something…" Tenten muttered, snapping her head up. She looked around. Konan frowned, looking around as well. Her face darkened over.

"I sense people." She whispered. "Hurry. Take cover." Konan leapt up into a tree, and Tenten followed Konan's lead, leaping into a different tree. She didn't feel much safer.

"Hello there." She jumped at the male voice, and felt cold metal pressing against her neck. "Who might you be?"

Tenten's eyes widened, and she focused chakra to her elbow, jutting it back into the male's guts. She heard the satisfying 'oomph!' before she leapt from the tree's, into the open clearing.

"KONAN!" She screamed.

Konan stared at Tenten incredulously from her spot in the tree. Had she lost her mind?! Why the hell would she go out and _announce_ their presence?! Konan made a paper shuriken, and threw it at Tenten, as if to scold the weapons mistress.

A figure from Tenten's tree lunged at Tenten. Konan identified the male immediately. It was Suigetsu Hozuki of the mist, a member of Team Taka. Before Konan knew it two others were mobbing Tenten. They were the redhead female, Karin and the demon boy, Juugo.

Konan released hundreds of paper shuriken, smirking as the Taka members were repelled by them. She could see the confusion in their faces as Tenten stood up.

"Are you throwing paper origami at us?" Suigetsu asked, arching an eyebrow. He held up an origami shuriken.

"Nope, but I've got a secret, would you like to know it?" Tenten asked. Konan scowled in an inaudible tone. This girl was going to get herself killed. Suigetsu stared at the girl for a moment before shrugging. "C'mere." Tenten motioned for Suigetsu to come closer. Suigetsu was hesitant, and showed no sign of coming closer. "C'mon, I clearly have no weapons." Tenten gestured to her attire, which left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Suigetsu shrugged at this, coming closer. Tenten whipped out a kunai, pulling him into a headlock. "Here's my secret…I have over 1,000 weapons on my person." She smirked. "And I intend on using them all on you." She released Suigetsu.

Konan leapt from the tree's landing next to Tenten. "Do that again, and I swear to kami I will kill you." She stated in a monotone voice.

"That isn't necessary." Sasuke Uchiha leapt down from a tree. "I don't take it well when people attack my team mates." He pulled out a kunai. "But its better when I don't know the person, because then I have no mercy in killing them." Sasuke smirked arrogantly, holding up his kunai. "Tell me, do you feel dead yet?"

"Do you?" Tenten pulled out kunai, throwing them at Sasuke. Had he not dodged the attack, they would've hit perfectly. "Why are you attacking Konoha?" She demanded. Konan had filled her in on everything on the way there.

"Because it was Konoha who killed my family! Who twisted the way I saw my brother, making me kill him!" Sasuke growled. He was getting mad, and he was getting mad fast. He whipped out his katana.

"That's not going to work on me." Tenten smirked, whipping a scroll. Out popped two katana. "And not all of Konoha is to blame for your family's death."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Everyone is to blame. Everyone was an accomplice, deciding that killing an entire clan, leaving me alone, was leverage for peace. Those damn Senju worshippers! I'm going to kill everyone, especially the last known Senju! Tsunade."

Tenten's eyes darkened over. "I don't think so." She threw her katana at him, which he easily deflected. "I. Don't. Think SO!" She lunged at him, dodging the katana as he tried to plunge it into her.

"Why is that? Hmm?" Sasuke asked, a menacing look in his Mangekyo eyes.

"My name is Tenten, from Team Gai. My mother is Godaime Hokage Tsunade." Tenten made a roundhouse kick to Sasuke's chest.

--

"Hokage-sama, you called to see me?"

"Yes. Come in."

The pink haired medic ninja entered the Hokage's makeshift office, aka a small canvas tent. He was alone in the tent; however Sakura had seen the shinobi stationed outside.

"I just wanted to question you about the shinobi we lost on your mission, Tenten." Danzo sipped some tea. His entire appearance creeped Sakura out, especially with the bandages wrapped around his head.

"Of course Hokage-sama." Sakura nodded.

"You say she was kidnapped and killed?" Danzo asked.

"Hai. She was kidnapped."

"And killed?"

"You saw the headband."

"That doesn't prove anything."

"It proves everything. A ninja only brings back his or her comrades forehead protectors when the forehead protector is proved useless."

"Correct. You know your facts."

"I was taught by the best."

"I trust you are telling the truth."

"I have told no lies."

"Very well Haruno-chan. You're dismissed."

--

"That's even worse. You're a blasted Senju!" Sasuke attacked Tenten, scratching her bare arms up with his katana. She moved quickly, dodging as much as possible. Sasuke landed a punch to her gut, sending her into a tree. Tenten screamed. Sasuke was too good.

An array of shuriken and kunai rained down on her, and Tenten tried to shield herself with her hands. It proved near useless. Sasuke came up to her.

"Now, Tenten. Senju-_chan_. Don't be sad. You can claim someone no one else can claim." He held her by the collar with one hand, holding a kunai up against her neck with the other.

"What's that?" Tenten gasped, struggling for air. She closed her eyes, her heart thumping as she tried to figure out how to get out of this mess.

"You can be the first Konoha shinobi I kill on my quest to obliterate Konohagakure." Sasuke grinned. "But I want to watch the look in your eyes as I kill you. It's not every day you get to kill a Senju. I want to know the exact joy that bastard Orochimaru felt when he killed the Third.

Tenten opened her eyes. Sasuke could not believe his.

From the ground, Konan stared at Sasuke's team mates. A single kunai dropped to the ground. Konan stared at the kunai, and then looked up.

--

AN: Tenten's father will be revealed in the next chapter! I'm sorry if this one sucked as well. Tata for now!


	9. Share and Gain

Total War

Chapter Eight: Share and Gain

--

"W-what are you!?" Sasuke stuttered. Tenten stared back at him, her eyes were wide.

"I don't know." She replied truthfully. She looked down. "I really don't know."

Sasuke roared in anger, slamming his fist against the tree. His nose wrinkled up in rage. "How can you?! How is that!?" He asked incomplete questions. That was beside the point, because even if they had been complete, Tenten would not have been able to answer them.

"Sasuke!" Karin's voice called up. "Are you ok?" She sounded worried, and Sasuke knew she was probably speaking for the entire team. He leapt down from the tree, landing between Konan and his team.

"No. I'm not." He muttered softly, beginning to pace. Tenten leapt down a moment later, her bangs obscuring her eyes. Konan stared at her.

"What happened?" Konan demanded. "What could you have possibly done to make the Uchiha stop fighting, but piss him off that badly?"

Tenten brushed her bangs from her face, and looked up. In the place of her creamy brown orbs were scarlet red Sharingan eyes.

--

"You can't just leave!" Sakura screamed. "We need you! I need you! Jiraiya's Alliance needs you!" The latter was spoken in a hushed tone.

"Sakura I had to lie for you, and I don't even know what it was I was lying about, because you wouldn't tell me!" Naruto groaned. "I need to figure out things right now. And to tell the truth, being here in Konoha with Danzo's men left and right isn't the best place. Not to mention Kakashi-sensei's good point. If I start acting a bit suspicious at all, Danzo is going to look into things. Let me protect you and our Suna alliance!" Naruto slung a bag over his shoulder.

"I'll tell you!" Sakura hissed. "I'll tell you everything!"

Naruto laughed sarcastically. "Right. This is so typical of you!" He threw his arms up into the air. "I've noticed a change in your behavior." He shook his head, pacing back and forth. "Ever since our visit to Orochimaru's lair, you've been treating me different."

"I've been treating you better." Sakura pointed out darkly. "I'm sorry if that's a crime."

"No. No you're not sorry! You only moved on to me because Sasuke isn't here for you to swoon over!" Naruto pulled at his hair. "And it's so frustrating, because you know I love you, but I don't know if the feeling is genuinely mutual, or if I'm just second best!" Naruto was completely flipping out. "And then this entire secret keeping shtick of yours..."

"I said I'd tell you!" Sakura screamed.

"Of course you would _now_ because I'm leaving!" Naruto snapped. "You didn't have a second's hesitation of pushing me out of the loop until I told you of my departure." He growled. "You even told Kankuro for Kami's sake." He shook his head. "I thought that you'd at least tell me."

"I thought you'd tell someone!" Sakura stated defensively. "You haven't been known to keep secrets."

Naruto glowered at her. "Not been known to keep secrets? Not been known to keep secrets!?" He threw his arms up again. "Are you kidding me?! Sakura are you kidding me?!" He pulled at his hair more. "When have you ever told me a secret that I blabbed out? Hmm?" He groaned.

"Well…" Sakura glanced away. He had her stuck.

"I have a secret for you." Naruto folded his arms, staring at her. "Remember the first day we were assigned to our teams, you and Sasuke almost kissed?"

Sakura's head snapped up to look at him. "Sasuke-kun told you?" She asked.

"No." Naruto growled. "Sasuke doesn't even know of the situation. Because it wasn't really Sasuke. It. Was. Me."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Th-That was you?" She whispered. "You never said anything about it."

"I rest my damn case." Naruto seethed. "You already pulled this little stunt a few years ago when Sasuke tried to leave-"

"Hmm…I wonder why? Maybe because I don't want either of you leaving?!" Sakura suggested, clenching her fists.

"Well then you had better get better at your negotiating skills, because it didn't work on Sasuke and it sure as hell isn't going to work on me." Naruto growled. "Goodbye Sakura-chan. See you when I'm ready to be back."

--

Sakura trudged around the Konoha streets. She was absolutely devastated. Kiba stared at her from afar, before approaching atop Akamaru's back.

"Are we still having the meeting?" Kiba asked in a hushed voice. Sakura and Naruto had managed to recruit a few brave members for the alliance before the kyuubi host had decided to leave.

"Maybe." Sakura sighed. Kiba stared at her incredulously. She began to walk more, and Kiba steered Akamaru around to cut her off. He slid down the beasts back, dropping to Sakura's level.

"What's wrong? I haven't seen you this down since Uchiha left." Kiba wore a playful grin. Sakura looked up at him, a gloomy and emotionless expression on her face.

"Naruto left." Sakura sighed.

"Naruto's left before. He always comes back." Kiba shrugged. "How is this different."

"Naruto left under the cover of a Shizune mission." Sakura sighed.

"Um…can Shizune even do that?" Kiba arched an eyebrow.

"Yes. She can give out missions, errands for Tsunade." Sakura nodded. "But you don't understand…the last time she gave a mission-"

"Tenten died?" Kiba stated softly. "No offense to her or anything, but Naruto is much stronger than her. He'll come back alive." He smiled.

"No Kiba." Sakura sighed. "The last time Shizune gave a mission…" She looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "It was a cover for us to safely get Tenten out of Konoha. She isn't dead."

Kiba's eyes widened. "So that means…"

"Naruto is using the mission as a cover. He's not running an errand for Tsunade. He really is leaving, and no one knows where he's going. Hell, I doubt he even knows where he's going." Sakura shook her head. "It doesn't help that we got into a massive fight before he left." She sighed. "He's never been that angry at me, ever." Her eyes softened.

"It's ok Sakura." Kiba pulled the pinkette into a hug. "He's gonna be fine, you're gonna be fine, we're all gonna be fine." He smirked. "Now let's go to that meeting of yours."

--

"I need explanations. Now." Sasuke demanded. The six sat in a circle in the same clearing. Sasuke had refused to let either Konan or Tenten leave, which worked as leverage for Konan who was trying to stall the Uchiha from attacking Konoha.

"I don't have explanations. At all." Tenten replied in the same tone.

"Wow, you Uchiha's." Suigetsu snickered, earning himself a well-deserved smack upside the head from an angry red kunoichi.

"I do." Konan stated softly.

"Well go on bluenette." Suigetsu grinned. "We all wanna hear."

Konan turned to Tenten. "Your mother is Tsunade, a Senju. Your father is Uchiha, Yashiro. He was the sole member of the Uchiha clan who was noted to not have black hair." She ignored the look of confusion on Tenten's face. "I hope I get the story right…Tsuande-sama had just lost practically a fortune in one of her little gambling stunts. She got completely wasted at a bar. Completely. Wasted. Yashiro was also wasted, as though he was a top-ranked officer in the Konoha Police Force, he'd gotten into a lot of trouble that day. Three words. One. Night. Stand. Of course that was all that was needed to create you." Konan smirked, while Tenten made a disgusted face.

"It was easy for Tsunade to mask her pregnancy in the later stages. She simply used her Advanced Transformation Technique during the day, allowing her true form when she was alone at night." Konan sighed. "However, your birth caused more troubles." Tenten didn't like the sound of that. "It was impossible for Tsunade to care for you without questions being raised, so she had you put under the care of a skilled medical ninja."

"Shizune?" Tenten quirked an eyebrow.

"No. Rin." Konan sighed. "Sakura said the name as if it had some sentimental value, but I don't see it as much importance…" She shrugged.

"I…remember Rin." Tenten stated softly. "I remember someone being with me until I was around…six."

"The same time of the Uchiha Massacre?" Sasuke asked slowly.

"Yes. That sounds about right." Tenten nodded.

"You do realize why Tsunade did this for you, don't you?" Konan asked slowly.

"So that I could grow up without bonds?" Tenten asked.

"Better to not have them at all then to have them and lose them." Sasuke muttered.

"No. It was to protect you." Konan replied softly. "You saw how Sasuke reacted when he found out you were a Senju, and you know what happened to the Uchiha's. What do you think would happen if a person found out there was a combination? A link between the two mighty clans that created Konoha?" Tenten's eyes widened and she glanced with Sasuke.

"That person would have to be killed?" Tenten asked, staring at Sasuke.

Sasuke glanced back at her. "I'm not going to hurt you." He muttered, rather angry at his decision.

"Mhm. Sure you aren't." Tenten pursed her lips, turning back to Konan.

Konan laughed. "He won't hurt you." She stated. "I have this all figured out now."

"Oh?" Karin quirked an eyebrow. "What could stop Sasuke-kun from killing a Senju girl?"

"The fact that she's part Uchiha." Sasuke muttered, shaking his head. He leapt up into the trees. Konan grinned.

"Exactly. He won't hurt you, because as much as he doesn't want to admit it. He needs you." Konan smirked at the incredulous look upon Tenten's face.

"Nani?"

"You are the only Uchiha female in _existence_."

--

A/N: Okay, the big secret's up. Tenten is an Uchiha-Senju.


End file.
